I was really enjoying the movie, getting lost in the humor and fun action scenes...but then it hit me...this wasn't a superhero movie. I was watching a buddy cop action/comedy with occasional robots. I think it hit me when Iron Man saved the people on the plane and then it turned out that he wasn't even in the suit when it all happened. He seemed to spend more time running around with a handgun than in the Iron Man armor (which was not very durable and seemed to be destroyed by a strong breeze). The fact that Pepper Potts actually defeated the main villain in the end (and War Machine did virtually nothing) didn't help matters.

The twist with The Mandarin did not seem clever at all (and not just because we've seen it before). I was actually really liking the idea that this terrorist leader had a genuine beef with America (I assumed he ran the Ten Rings terrorist group in part 1, though they didn't bother to connect the films in that way). I think that he was on his way to really being the first great villain of the Marvel cinematic universe. It turns out that the villain was just some dude who felt stood up by Tony Stark. I did like that they kind of made a reference to how corporations are pulling the strings and how America and the terrorists we fight are often really just "actors" with the same agenda (even now America is funding radical Muslim terror groups and helping them overthrow countries...I assume that this was a critique of this type of policy). But I don't feel that this was worth ruining The Mandarin. Plus, I just didn't like the character or performance of Guy Pearce.

In the end Iron Man blew up his remaining suits, got his heart problem taken care of...cured Pepper of the illness she only had only just acquired...all seemingly to devote himself to being Tony Stark, even chucking his chest piece into the ocean...and then immediately took it all back and vowed to keep being Iron Man. It felt like it was forced in just to have a happy ending.

Overall, I felt like the movie never took itself, including the threat, very seriously. It felt like a filler issue of a comic, just killing time until Avengers 2.

I know that it doesn't seem like I enjoyed it...but I actually did. It was a very funny Lethal Weapon type film. My problem is that I don't really like those types of movies, but this was a decent riff on that formula.

-It's safe to say it was very shortly after the ill-advised TV threat. And Tony had decent control over the situation until the final chopper took him down into the ocean. Releasing all the armors was a last resort.

No, the point here is...

how could Killian have hoped to get away with that attack? What can three helicopters do against a single Iron Man suit that was good enough to take down alien vehicles and weapons? What if Tony had noticed the attack only three seconds earlier - he would have been in his suit, intercepted the missile and took down the three helicopters within seconds. "The Manadarin" would have been humiliated in public. The only reason why Killians attack succeeded was because he got lucky. Because genius Tony Stark is a careless idiot (and he shouldn't be - even withoug challenging Mandarin, he should have at least a standard defense system). Because of a poor script.

Somewhere on Comic Book Movie someone wrote: When we saw the trailer, we all thought: Awesome! The Mandarin is a genius! What did he do so that he was able to do a sneak attack on Tony's house without Tony noticing it? After seeing the film, that question remained unanswered. "Mandarin" (Killian) did nothing. He just sent three helicopters there without a good plan, hoping that it will succeed. And it succeeded for not other plausible reason than the script writers wanting it to succeed.

I went into the 8:30 showing (regular 2D) at my local Novato theater (Century Rowland Plaza). It's small, not a big fancy place. And I've never heard applause at the end of a movie. At the end, the entire audience applauded.

As for me, I loved it! In many ways, it was better than IM1, in that there was a coherent script (I love love love IM1 but part of its charm is that it felt like it was almost totally improvised, and this movie felt more cohesive to me) and nice twisty plot. I loved all of Black's easter eggs. It wrapped up the first IM trilogy wonderfully.

Ben Kingsley shocked me, legitimately shocked me. As did Guy Pearce. Did NOT expect him at all. Adored the ittle twists with Pepper, and greatly appreciated that this movie passed Bechdel. The chemistry between Tony and Rhodey this time felt far more natural than in IM2. In so many places I could feel the influence of Lethal Weapon and KKBB. And as I love both those movies, I loved it here too.

So there's my short little review. 9/10. Docked points for the score - I think that more than anything interfered with some really cool moments.

__________________"Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Edgar Wright, James Gunn… For as much flack as people give Marvel that's a pretty freaking great group of filmmakers. Kind of feel spoiled."

There is a difference between joking when the **** hits the fan and joking when your soul mate kicks he bucket

Exactly ! Remember when he told Pepper: "I hope I can protect the thing I can't live without, thats you"

For him to still joke when he has failed in that important mission is not interesting for the character at all. Even if joking IS his defense mechanism.

Remember the look on his face when Coulson died and Fury was giving them his 'I still believe in heroes' lecture.

You guys are saying Stark should have lol'ed at Fury or done something 'Starky'. But he was shocked at the death of his friend and acted accordingly. Isn't that more interesting to see ? (or in Starks case, out of character because tragedy has struck)

Or in IM1 when the reporter showed him pictures of the atrocities committed in Gulmira by his weapons. He got serious. You guys would have him say something like "I got a Jericho missile right here for ya, just gimme a call"

Because that's how he deals with tragedy. Maybe true, but makes for one boring and one dimensional character.

I went into the 8:30 showing (regular 2D) at my local Novato theater (Century Rowland Plaza). It's small, not a big fancy place. And I've never heard applause at the end of a movie. At the end, the entire audience applauded.

As for me, I loved it! In many ways, it was better than IM1, in that there was a coherent script (I love love love IM1 but part of its charm is that it felt like it was almost totally improvised, and this movie felt more cohesive to me) and nice twisty plot. I loved all of Black's easter eggs. It wrapped up the first IM trilogy wonderfully.

Ben Kingsley shocked me, legitimately shocked me. As did Guy Pearce. Did NOT expect him at all. Adored the ittle twists with Pepper, and greatly appreciated that this movie passed Bechdel. The chemistry between Tony and Rhodey this time felt far more natural than in IM2. In so many places I could feel the influence of Lethal Weapon and KKBB. And as I love both those movies, I loved it here too.

So there's my short little review. 9/10. Docked points for the score - I think that more than anything interfered with some really cool moments.

I think the enjoyment of this movie really depends on wether or not you like Shane Black's style. Personally, I LOVE Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and enjoyed The Long Kiss Goodnight (probably his weakest work to date, but it was heavily revised for the final film), so this was right up my alley.

Oh...this has nothing to do with the film itself...but the sound was very low at the theater I was in. I could hear people chewing popcorn over the film and had to strain to hear what was being said several times. This has been the case the last few times I've gone to the movies, so either I'm going deaf, or some theaters are playing with the sound to increase the appeal of the more expensive screens.

I saw Stark taking out the two helicopters and seemingly had the situation under control, but the last attack caught him by surprise. Afterward, he was fainted and JARVIS took him out of there. I don't see any inconsistency in it.

See?
Even with the surprise effect, the attack almost failed.

What was Killian thinking? -

- "Oh, that's the guy who built a suit powerful enough to fight an alien army... and I hear he has 20 or 30 of the suits at his home. I'd say we send three helicopters!"
-"Only three ordinary helicopters, boss? Really? They will go down within seconds!"
- "Yes, but maybe with all his high-tech stuff there, he doesn't have a simple radar-based defense system, and maybe he is totally careless and not thinking..."
- "But he is a genius!"
- "Ah, come on, let's at least try it. I'd say we got a 10% chance that his works. And if it doesn't work..." "
- "... the people will say he challenged the Mandarin and won the first round."
- "Ah... whatever. Send the helicopters!"

how could Killian have hoped to get away with that attack? What can three helicopters do against a single Iron Man suit that was good enough to take down alien vehicles and weapons? What if Tony had noticed the attack only three seconds earlier - he would have been in his suit, intercepted the missile and took down the three helicopters within seconds. "The Manadarin" would have been humiliated in public. The only reason why Killians attack succeeded was because he got lucky. Because genius Tony Stark is a careless idiot (and he shouldn't be - even withoug challenging Mandarin, he should have at least a standard defense system). Because of a poor script.

Somewhere on Comic Book Movie someone wrote: When we saw the trailer, we all thought: Awesome! The Mandarin is a genius! What did he do so that he was able to do a sneak attack on Tony's house without Tony noticing it? After seeing the film, that question remained unanswered. "Mandarin" (Killian) did nothing. He just sent three helicopters there without a good plan, hoping that it will succeed. And it succeeded for not other plausible reason than the script writers wanting it to succeed.

The helicopters were disguised as media helicopters, that was made pretty clear right from the trailer.

The helicopters were disguised as media helicopters, that was made pretty clear right from the trailer.

Oh, I see, it's not that hard to fool a genius...

Don't you think Stark Mansion should have all kind of high tech equipment and sensors to notice that these media helicopters are armed with missiles?

Besides,
I thought Killian needed Stark's knowledge... that's why he shows up at Stark Industries where Pepper says "Sorry, no", that's why he later says Stark will be his new assistant.
But in that missile attack, Tony could have died.
What does Killian want - kill Tony or forcing him to assist him?

The helicopters were disguised as media helicopters, that was made pretty clear right from the trailer.

Exactly. Plus, the house was also surrounded of other helicopters. JARVIS pretty much said Stark gave his adress to the entire world, so it was difficult to monitor what was a menace and what was not.

They didn't notice the attack until they had a missile right before the window. On TV.

And Killian didn't want Stark as an assistant until Hansen told him she needed him to perfect the formula. Seriously guys, the movie has flaws but you're just trying to find excuses to ***** about if you talk about stuff like this, it's like you didn't even pay attention to the *****ing movie.

And then... ten rings based on alien technology would be too "magical", but armour parts like gauntlets, helmet, should pads flying 800 miles within a minute on their own without any power source or visible means of propulsion isn't "magical"? Some of Mandarin's rings are more realistic.

I still think the first one is the best, but I'd put "Iron Man Three" up near it as a worthy successor in the series (IM2 was "okay" and definitely had some good stuff, but it was not quite up to snuff and was somewhat disappointing considering the first, but part three delivers).

Quite a different style/vibe with this one. It had some great humor (but I certainly wouldn't consider it anywhere near being a "comedy"), cool action, and nice character stuff for Tony with his PTSD and identity issues. Pepper of course had some great stuff too. I'd say its really more of the adventures of Tony Stark than "Iron Man", but thats really pretty cool since, as Tony comes to accept, Tony IS Iron Man.

Honestly, I think this movie really speaks to the question Cap raised in The Avengers: "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away and what are you?"

Tony's retort in Avengers was true and amusing, but this movie is basically the serious answer to that question. He's Iron Man. Nice.

I really like the new theme for Iron Man, and the retro version of it used during the end credits was really fun to listen to. It kind of had an "Incredibles" vibe.

I loved the after credits scene. I thought it was perfect. Definitely my favorite out of all 7 films' post credit scenes. It was character and fun and gave a little bit more information about THIS movie. Sure the future movie foreshadowing stuff has been cool in the others, but this was just .... " big smile inducing". "I'm not that kind of doctor." Ha! Great stuff!

And then... ten rings based on alien technology would be too "magical", but armour parts like gauntlets, helmet, should pads flying 800 miles within a minute on their own without any power source or visible means of propulsion isn't "magical"? Some of Mandarin's rings are more realistic.

I was hoping that the ten rings would be infinity gems that would be collected somehow and used in a gauntlet by Thanos in Avengers 2. ESPECIALLY if Guardians of the Galaxy actually defeat Thanos, he will need an increase in power to make me care about him as a threat in Avengers. I still maintain my hope and prediction that Thanos actually wins in Guardians of the Galaxy, killing most of the team and heading to earth to fight the Avengers. I don't recall ever seeing a superhero movie where the bad guy clearly and decisively wins in the end, so it would take some serious guts for Marvel to try it, but I think it would help make the threat seem larger in Avengers 2.

Exactly ! Remember when he told Pepper: "I hope I can protect the thing I can't live without, thats you"

For him to still joke when he has failed in that important mission is not interesting for the character at all. Even if joking IS his defense mechanism.

Remember the look on his face when Coulson died and Fury was giving them his 'I still believe in heroes' lecture.

You guys are saying Stark should have lol'ed at Fury or done something 'Starky'. But he was shocked at the death of his friend and acted accordingly. Isn't that more interesting to see ? (or in Starks case, out of character because tragedy has struck)

Or in IM1 when the reporter showed him pictures of the atrocities committed in Gulmira by his weapons. He got serious. You guys would have him say something like "I got a Jericho missile right here for ya, just gimme a call"

Because that's how he deals with tragedy. Maybe true, but makes for one boring and one dimensional character.

- "Oh, that's the guy who built a suit powerful enough to fight an alien army... and I hear he has 20 or 30 of the suits at his home. I'd say we send three helicopters!"
-"Only three ordinary helicopters, boss? Really? They will go down within seconds!"
- "Yes, but maybe with all his high-tech stuff there, he doesn't have a simple radar-based defense system, and maybe he is totally careless and not thinking..."
- "But he is a genius!"
- "Ah, come on, let's at least try it. I'd say we got a 10% chance that his works. And if it doesn't work..." "
- "... the people will say he challenged the Mandarin and won the first round."
- "Ah... whatever. Send the helicopters!"

I think it's reasonable to assume that Tony Stark is the kind of narcissist that would think no one would really try to attack him at his home seeing as he is Iron Man. It's safe to assume this is why he doesn't have a defense system because he thinks he's untouchable (classic narcissistic thinking). So Killian's plan actually working isn't a stretch. Yeah you can say all the "ifs" you want but let's face it that's life. "If" a man walking down the street would have waited 5 more seconds to turn a corner he wouldn't have gotten hit by a car. So saying "if" Stark had 3 more seconds he could have stopped the attack is just a cop out to say why you think the scene was a bad one. Tony Stark thought he was untouchable and Killian caught him off guard and proved him wrong, plain and simple no "ifs, ands or buts" about it.

Not checking if "media helicopters" could be something else in such a situation is like not checking Rhodes' identity when Iron Patriot enters Air Force 1.

How is J.A.R.V.I.S. supposed to do that? The helicopters were flying around the house not inside it, J.A.R.V.I.S. has little power outside the building and he doesn't have magic scanners or something like that, when Stark investigated the temperature peaks caused by Extremis soldiers he had to access to S.H.I.E.L.Ds database and satellites (to which he got pluged-in in Marvel's The Avengers). You guys remember it's a house, not fortress.

As for Iron Patriot I imagine they had some kind of identification, even if it was false. Remember that the vice-president was evil all along and when Stark told him about the danger in Air Force One he was the one to explain that the President was safe with Iron Patriot. I suppose he was the one who gave the confirmation to the Secret Service too.

I went to a second viewing a few days ago, and I have to admit that the movie does not really hold up to repeated viewings that well, it dragged quite a bit.
Still, really good movie, but nowhere near the first one.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erzengel

I ask her during dinner, what's her top 3 favorite movies. If she doesn't list Star Wars as at least #2. I excuse myself to the bathroom and crawl out the window. :up:

- "Oh, that's the guy who built a suit powerful enough to fight an alien army... and I hear he has 20 or 30 of the suits at his home. I'd say we send three helicopters!"
-"Only three ordinary helicopters, boss? Really? They will go down within seconds!"
- "Yes, but maybe with all his high-tech stuff there, he doesn't have a simple radar-based defense system, and maybe he is totally careless and not thinking..."
- "But he is a genius!"
- "Ah, come on, let's at least try it. I'd say we got a 10% chance that his works. And if it doesn't work..." "
- "... the people will say he challenged the Mandarin and won the first round."
- "Ah... whatever. Send the helicopters!"

Stark didn't have those defenses for his house because (1)he never gave out his home address to anyone, but he was emotional and gave out the address by mistake and (2)he probably believed that his armor(s) would be good enough to protect him during emergency. But Pepper clearly didn't buy it so she wanted to leave, and Stark wanted to stay for those two reasons. He made a mistake, obviously.

__________________"I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not." - Captain America

You would think Shane Black wanted the audience to have a good time. That bastard.

Yeah and to do this, he turned like every other line into a joke thoughout the movie. Hell he turned the whole character of the Mandarin into a joke. The first 2 Iron Man films, and the Avengers had a nice balance of humor when need be, but was mostly serious. I dont think there was a serious scene in this movie.

I think this was a great Tony Stark film. After getting three outtings prior to this that were in all purposes "Iron Man" outtings it was nice to see a movie done that focused on Tony Stark and brought Tony back to the roots of who he is. After almost dying multiple times and being a part of an alien invasion and realizing he's not the most powerful guy ever like he thought he was, it was good to see how messed up he got over all this. But I loved that IM3 showed his transition from being messed up because of everything that happened to becoming a lot more comfortable with himself and who he is as a hero.

And as far as the whole blowing his suits up and removing his arc reactor(which happens in the comics so why are so many people so surprised over this or at least us comic fans) I think this is a great place for the character because like he said "Clean Slate." Tony's back to his roots, building and innovating not because he's terrified of what's going on around him but because it's what he loves to do and is who he is. They now can continue to take the character any place they want. Also blowing up his suits is a great future plot device because if any pieces of the suit are left and discovered and reversed engineered.... Ezekial Stane anyone???

I think it's reasonable to assume that Tony Stark is the kind of narcissist that would think no one would really try to attack him at his home seeing as he is Iron Man. It's safe to assume this is why he doesn't have a defense system because he thinks he's untouchable (classic narcissistic thinking). So Killian's plan actually working isn't a stretch. Yeah you can say all the "ifs" you want but let's face it that's life. "If" a man walking down the street would have waited 5 more seconds to turn a corner he wouldn't have gotten hit by a car. So saying "if" Stark had 3 more seconds he could have stopped the attack is just a cop out to say why you think the scene was a bad one. Tony Stark thought he was untouchable and Killian caught him off guard and proved him wrong, plain and simple no "ifs, ands or buts" about it.

Isn't a big plot of the movie him thinking he has to amass an army of suits because he's afraid of whats out there?